A Blog from Amman, Jordan, Online Since 2004.

The amount of sunlight that lands on a patch of ground each second is a kind of flux.

Flux is a beautiful word. My favorite word of 2013, in fact, because by its very nature, flux captures how life is anything but one dimensional.

2012 was my yes year, and an excellent one at that. I learned a lot by saying yes, yes, yes. I explored new things, new feelings, and new thoughts. I met lots of wonderful people. Most importantly though, I discovered the secret to happiness.

But that was 2012. Today, we mark the end of 2013, and 2013 was my year of flux.

Flux means both change and flow, which are two very different things: change signifies something drastic, and flow signifies something constant. It is that strange combination that made my year beautiful.

Here are the things I learned in 2013:

1. Embracing a content state of mind is embracing the very essence of joy. Contentment is pure, constant pleasure.

2. There is happiness in doing, and happiness in not doing. A balance isn’t necessary, but a balance is nice.

3. Just being is fun.

4. Always accept that you are who you are, that this is how things are, and that you are an entity. Everything else is another entity.

5. Be simple.

6. The big things don’t matter, anyway. Just enjoy the fact that the sky is blue. That the water is smooth and cool. That the vibe is right. It’s these concrete, basic things that will drive contentment.

7. “Nothing matters but the moment, there might be no tomorrow, and even if there is, no body gives a damn”.

8. “Internal balance” and other buzzwords of new-age bullshit are bullshit. Don’t worry about shit like that. Who ever said that there’s a mechanism in your body for balance, anyway? Just enjoy whoever it is you are.

9. Not everything has a point. Some things just are.

10. Just enjoy the things you can touch and see. Everything you can’t touch or see doesn’t exist. They’re just human-made emotions that you don’t need to subscribe to. Can you smell it? Touch it? Taste it? Hear it? See it? If not, then you don’t need it.

11. Learn how to use a semicolon.

12. Do all things with so much love in your heart that you’ll never want to do it any other way.